Forgiveness
by Junebugsm
Summary: Callie has it out for Mariana when she learns about the sex with Wyatt. It's now up to Stef and Lena to end the battle.
1. Chapter 1

**Callie has it out for Mariana when she learns about the sex with Wyatt. It's now up to Stef and Lena to end the battle.**

(A request by a guest where Stef and Lena try to help the girls sort out their problems.)

* * *

"Spare me the sob story Mariana." Callie snapped when Mariana wouldn't leave her alone. "We all know how good you are acting."

"I'm not acting okay." Mariana said. She'd been apologizing to Callie for three days now but Callie just wouldn't even try to understand. "You don't think I feel bad about what I did to you... and to Matt?"

"I don't think you feel anything for anyone but yourself." Callie spat back as she turned around to walk away from the younger girl.

"Look, I wasn't trying to lie okay." Mariana said for the hundredth time. "I was just waiting until after your birthday. I was trying to look out for you."

"And what were you going to say?" Callie questioned, spinning around to face her again. "Hey, since you don't mind me dating Wyatt it's okay to tell you that we already screwed around before that?" She said in a sassy Mariana voice.

"I didn't screw around." Mariana defended. "I was upset."

"So you spread your legs for the first boy that came along?" Callie accused. "Lucky for us it wasn't Brandon or Jude"

"I'm not the one that kissed my brother." Mariana retaliated, feeling a bit defensive.

"He wasn't my brother at the time moron." Callie retorted.

"He was your foster brother." Mariana pointed out. "It's the same thing."

"Really?" Callie questioned. "Well, I treat my _foster_ brothers better than you treat your own twin brother."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mariana asked taking a step away from Callie.

"That you'll even throw him under the bus if it get's you out of trouble." Callie said. "Like letting him take the blame for selling his pills or how about when you knew he was going to Ana's house and waited forever to tell moms?" Callie reminded her.

"I didn't want to get him into trouble." Mariana said. "I was looking out for him."

"We can all do without you _looking out_ for us." Callie said in humorous disgust. "Your idea of looking out for people is seriously twisted."

"Look, I said I was sorry okay." Mariana said in exasperation. "It's done and there's nothing I can do about it now so can you just let it go please."

"Why?" Callie asked. "Because it suits you?"

"You know what? I'm not sorry." Mariana said, finally fed up of apologizing. "You don't have any rights to Wyatt and he can do what he likes with whomever he likes. And besides, it's not like you were together or anything."

"You keep telling yourself that, if it makes you feel better about yourself." Callie said. Mariana was right - Wyatt was free to do what he liked. But that wasn't what upset Callie so much - it was the fact that her own sister tried to twist things around and lied to her."

"It's a fact isn't it?" Mariana pointed out. "You're just upset because Wyatt dumped you for me."

"He didn't dump me for you. We were already broken up." Callie said. "Remember, a few moments ago that was your excuse for it begin okay." Callie laughed at Mariana's ability to change things to suit herself.

"Either way, I don't need your permission or forgiveness." Mariana said, walking out of their bedroom and into the hall.

"Of course," Callie said as she followed her sister out. "I almost forgot, the rules always change to suit your needs."

"You're just jealous that Wyatt is over you." Mariana said, spinning around to face her sister. "You thought you could just walk all over him and he'd keep crawling back like a good little puppy."

"Just like you expected everyone to behave for you." Callie pointed out. "You're scared to get in trouble so Jesus bails you out, you're worried about him so Stef goes to the rescue, you feel insecure so everyone has to prove to you that you're wanted and loved and if someone want's to leave then that's all about you as well." Callie couldn't help but think about when she'd chosen to move in with Robert and Mariana had made it all about her. "You're the one that ruins every relationship Mariana. You keep complaining that with Lexi gone you have no friends well, newsflash, if that's true then Lexi was obviously your only friend and if you hadn't narked on her relationship with Jesus to her parents then maybe she'd still be here."

"Is that all you do?" Mariana asked, "Bring back every mistake that anyone ever made?"

"No, just yours." Callie clarified. "The list is so long it's pretty easy actually."

"Screw you." Mariana snapped and began descending the stairs.

"No thanks, I don't sleep with sluts." Callie called out before returning to her room and slamming the door."

* * *

This was how it had been for the last three days everyone just left the two alone. Mariana felt guilty and hearing Callie bring up every mistake she'd ever made did nothing to help and Callie couldn't believe that someone who claimed to be her sister could be so deceitful and sly. The two had barely been able to share a house, let alone a room and had been at each other's throats every second they were near each other.

Dinner that night was no better, in fact it seemed to be getting worse. The two were now actively trying to attack the other.

"Please pass the orange juice." Mariana said Jude who was closest to the jug.

Callie, who happened to be passing Jude to get to her seat quickly reached for the jug and walked around the table, _accidentally_ spilling a bit on Mariana's white dress.

"Oops." Callie said in mock regret. "I'm sorry." She paused a moment before continuing. "But it's already done so I guess you just have to forgive me."

Mariana gave Callie a dirty look, ready to retaliate but Callie beat her to it.

"That's how it works right?" Callie questioned, pretending to wonder if she'd gotten it wrong.

"You are such a _BITCH_." Mariana screamed as she dabbed at the offending orange stain on her dress. "God, no wonder he ditched you. You're impossible."

"No, you're just a brat." Callie said. "It's too bad you weren't in the system longer, it would really have set you straight."

"Or maybe you were in the system so long because everyone knew how fucking screwed up you were." Mariana considered. "I mean, you were in like, six homes before this right?"

"And still I know how to value the people that love me." Callie pointed out.

"Except Wyatt." Mariana stated.

"You don't know anything about Wyatt." Callie snapped. She may not have loved him but she knew a lot about him.

"I know more of him then you do." Mariana smirked, finally she could use the sex to one-up Callie.

"And then you say you're not a slut." Callie confirmed.

"Having sex with one guy isn't being a slut, look it up." Mariana said.

"If I looked it up, I'll bet your picture will be printed there." Callie spat back.

"And that's why you're flunking out of sch..." Mariana began but was interrupted.

* * *

"THAT'S ENOUGH." Stef yelled as she banged her hand down hard on the table, bringing the entire room to a standstill. "What is wrong with the two of you?" Stef questioned. "You two are sisters but right now you're acting like a couple of spoilt brats."

"She is _not_ my sister." Callie remind them all. For once she was happy about the fact that she wasn't adopted.

Stef gave Callie a dirty look. "Everyone in this house is family." Stef growled, hating it when anyone was ever made to feel like they didn't belong. Yes, their family was a little unique but it was still a family.

"Really, AJ was in this house, he's not family." Callie pointed out cheekily. She was livid and not even Stef's authoritative command could calm her down.

"Yes he is." Stef stated clearly. "And so are you." She added firmly. "And you are the big sister so you need to be just a little more understanding."

"Of what?" Callie asked in surprise. She couldn't see how she was the one getting into trouble. "Maybe if you guys weren't so damn understanding then she'd have learned to treat others better by now." Callie spat back.

"That's enough young lady." Stef said, her eyes fiery and her jaw clenched tight.

Callie laughed in admiration. "No wonder she thinks she can do whatever she wants; she always gets away with everything." She said out loud, to no-one in particular.

"Honey." Lena interrupted, trying to defuse the fight. "What mom is trying to say is that we know you're hurting and you're upset and you have every right to be but you need to try and understand what Mariana is feeling." She said gently, hoping that with a different tone Callie would be more receptive.

"She was feeling like being a bitch." Callie said. Nothing was going to make her forgive so easily.

"Go to your room Callie." Stef ordered. It was very seldom that she ever used this tone with her children but right now she'd had just about enough.

"Mariana's room?" Callie mumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear, before she quickly ascended the stairs.

Stef shook her head in anger as she began to follow the girl but Lena stopped her.

"Let her go." Lena said making Stef turn around in frustration. "Give her some time to cool down." What Lena didn't say was that Stef also needed some time to calm down.

* * *

"She is blowing this way out of proportion." Stef said once the two adults were alone in their room.

"Really?" Lena asked, thinking this is exactly how Stef would react if she knew about the kiss with Monty.

"They are teenagers Lena." Stef said. "They all make mistakes. We don't keep reminding them of it."

"I'm sure Callie is just reacting the way anyone would." Lena said in understanding. "How would you feel if you found out I was having sex with someone else."

"It's not the same Lena." Stef shook her head. "We are married and have been together for ten years. Callie and Wyatt aren't even dating anymore."

"But Mariana is her sister Stef." Lena explained. "It's not Wyatt that's upsetting Callie it's Mariana. She should have just told her the truth and maybe then Callie wouldn't be so upset."

"I can't believe you're condoning this behavior." Stef said in surprise. "Callie has been basically bullying Mariana since her party and Mariana has tried to apologize about a dozen times."

"Well I can't believe you're judging Callie here." Lena said calmly, they often had opposing views and this was no different. "She's the one who got hurt."

Stef sighed and shook her head. "No, we've all made mistakes, including Callie. We don't keep reminding her of them and she can't keep doing that to Mariana. The whole Ana thing is forgotten and it is not Mariana's fault that I was shot."

"No, it wasn't." Lena agreed. "But this isn't Callie's fault either. She's hurting Stef. If I did this to you, you'd be hurting too and who know what's you say."

"I wouldn't do this." Stef said, not realizing that Lena was almost admitting to her mistake.

Lena had to agree with Stef - she wouldn't do this. Even then Stef would never try to hurt Lena no matter how much she herself was hurting and that's what made it even worse and it was that very thought that made Lena feel even worse. Yes, she understood all too well that Mariana had made a mistake and was sorry but it was the image of Stef's pain that made her understand Callie's anger. The two were so similar but in this one way they were so different.

"And they are sisters." Stef said flatly, refusing to accept anything else.

"And all sisters fight." Lena smiled gently. "In fact this is the first time Callie has ever displayed this kind of teenage aggression. Let's just be glad about that."

Stef finally had to smile. "That's true." She said. "For once she doesn't feel like she has to hide her opinion or her pain just to keep the peace."

Lena finally relaxed a bit. "I know that Mariana made a mistake and she's sorry but Callie got hurt and she is reacting." She said. "You can't be so hard on her."

Stef thought about it for a few moments before turning to her wife. "We don't let Mariana get away with everything do we?" She questioned.

"No." Lena said. "But just like Callie even she feels safe enough to make mistakes."

"Ahh." Stef groaned as she sat on the bed and held her head in her hands wondering how trying to make her children feel like they belong was leading to such a huge mess. "It sucks when they are both your kids. "You can't pick a side."

"Let them figure it out." Lena suggested making Stef raise an eyebrow in question. "We don't let them at each other's throats like this but they have to work it out. Callie needs time to forgive Mariana and Mariana needs to find a way to make it up to her."

"Okay." Stef agreed. "But Callie is apologizing to Mariana about the past. That is just unacceptable."

"Okay." Lena accepted. Even she didn't like that past mistakes were brought up. "She can apologize to you as well."

"No." Stef shook her head. "She was just mad. She didn't mean it."

Lena smiled knowing it would be just a few seconds before Stef realized that it extended to Mariana as well.

Stef looked up at her wife also thinking the same thing - Callie didn't mean what she said to Mariana, she was just mad then too.

"You keep me sane." Stef said, pulling Lena down for a kiss and one again Lena felt guilty. The one good thing that came from this huge fight was that Callie now knew Mariana's mistake while Lena was still trying to keep hers a secret.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey." Stef said as she entered the girls' room to find Callie sitting on her bed doing homework, refusing to look up.

Stef and Lena were going to talk to the girls together and Lena had gone downstairs to get Mariana from the kitchen nook.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Stef said, always upset when she became overly police-y with her kids.

"I get that she's your daughter but it's not fair." Callie said, finally looking up at Stef.

Stef's face filled with defeat at Callie's words. Yes, Mariana was her daughter and no, Callie wasn't legally adopted yet but that didn't make her any less her daughter either and Stef just wished Callie would see that. Nothing they seemed to do would make her feel like a part of this family and sometimes Stef just wanted to shake her until something clicked and she believed them.

"I'm sorry." Callie said with a sigh, knowing how Stef felt about the topic.

"I know you're hurt." Stef finally said. "I understand that but you are Mariana are a family and you both need to remember that."

"I know." Callie admitted. "I shouldn't have said that. I don't believe it." She said, almost believing it herself.

Stef smiled as she sat down beside Callie and pulled the notebook from her grasp, closing it and putting it to one side. "It's actually good." Stef said. "All siblings fight and you and Mariana are no different."

Callie smiled at the irony. Stef hated them fighting but here she was saying that it was a good thing.

"I remember the first time Jesus and B fought." Stef recalled, a faraway look in her eyes. "Jesus was always bouncing off the walls and Mariana was so timid she refused to ever come to us for help so we would have homework time down at the dinner table. Lena liked being right there in case any of them needed help."

Callie smiled - both moms were always around whenever they were needed and she liked the image that Stef was making.

"Well Jesus always struggled to sit in one place and get his work done and one day he had to write a book report and it took him over an hour to get it done. It wasn't hard and Lena and he would read a little bit of the book every night and then she helped him summarize it but still he struggled with finishing the report. He was almost done when B accidentally accidentally spilled glue all over it; he was putting together a windmill for the science fair. Jesus was so angry, he was almost crying but he jumped out of his chair and began yelling at B and when he ran out of things to say he started saying other things in Spanish." Stef smiled fondly at the memory. "B tried to apologize but Jesus wouldn't stop long enough to listen and eventually he took the windmill and smashed it on the floor and B was upset and pushed him and Jesus fell over the chair and we had world war three going on."

Lena and Mariana entered the room and Stef finally came back to the present and glanced at Callie. "We stopped it and talked to them but that feeling that Jesus wasn't afraid of us anymore was amazing.

"Oh the fight?" Lena asked as she sat down with Mariana on the younger girl's bed.

"umm." Stef said, smiling at Lena.

"We felt the same way when Jude fought with Jesus." Lena reminded Stef.

"Right, 'Jesus time'" Stef teased with a laugh and even Callie and Mariana let go of their anger just enough to crack smiles of their own. "Anyways, the point is that all siblings fight." She said, looking between the two teens.

"And everyone makes mistakes." Lena added, reminding them both that neither one of them was exempt from that.

"We get mad, we get angry but we don't bully." Stef said, looking at Callie. "And we think about who we might be hurting before we act." She added, turning to Mariana. "That's what family does."

Mariana sighed heavily as she turned to her sister. "I really am sorry." She said sincerely. "I was so disappointed that Matt didn't want to have sex with me and when Wyatt came along I just... I guess I needed to know that it was Matt and not me that was the problem. I wasn't thinking about you at all."

"I'm sorry too." Callie said though it was obvious she was still hurt. "I have no right to Wyatt and I really don't mind you dating him - I mean, it's weird but I'll get over that - I just wish you hadn't tried to lie and go behind my back."

"I just didn't want to hurt you on your birthday." Mariana explained. "And we're not getting together." She added. "I was dumb to even think it. I love Matt, not Wyatt."

Callie nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry too. I know you were just trying to help your mom and you didn't know something bad would happen." Callie said. "I know you were scared when Stef was shot."

All eyes turned to Stef for a moment and Stef smiled encouragingly at Mariana, reminding her that she was not to blame for that. It had taken her close to a month to get Mariana to let go of her guilt and she wasn't about to let it come back now.

"You were right though." Mariana said. "I should have just told moms, they would have understood." She glanced up at them in regret.

"Well, I'm sorry too, for bringing it all up again." Callie said. "I shouldn't have done that. I've made mistakes too and I'd really love to just forget them forever." She said with a small grin.

"Me too." Mariana admitted, wishing that those memories of Jesus in Ana's house and Stef fighting for her life would just go away.

"Just don't lie to me okay." Callie added, still a little hurt by that. "Even if you make a mistake, just tell me. I'd rather hear it from you."

Mariana smiled and nodded and then got up and went to hug Callie. "I love you and I'm glad you're my sister." She said. "This house has way too many brothers." She added with a grin.

The two sat hugging for a few more moments when Stef decided to join in.

"Oh, my babies." She said, wrapping her arms around both of them.

Lena got up and sat on the other side of Mariana, sandwiching the two girls between herself and Stef and hugged them tight.

* * *

"You know, I do agree with Callie." Stef said as she pulled on her pajama pants.

"About what?" Lena asked, buttoning her top.

"Mariana should have been the one to tell Callie." Stef said, remembering all the times over the years she'd told her kids to just be honest about a mistake.

"It's hard to just come clean." Lena said, swallowing a lump she hoped Stef hadn't noticed.

"But it's better than this." Stef said. She glanced at Lena. "I would want to know." She said. "If you cheated on me or whatever, I would want you to be the one to tell me."

Lena didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say and she felt her throat go dry as she wracked her mind of an appropriate response.

But before she could come up with anything Stef was laughing in amusement. "Thank god we don't have this kind of drama." She said ignorantly, missing the nervous look on her wife's face.

"Um hum." Lena nodded and quickly flipped the light switch off before her ever-observant wife noticed her nervousness."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So this request specifically asked for Stef to side with Mariana and Lena to side with Callie. I got some reviews about how both girls were wrong (thankfully no one hated my story for it :)

Thanks for reading and for the reviews. Keep writing.

Love Junebug.


End file.
